Question for the rodbuilders.

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Nol78

Re: Question for the rodbuilders.

Post by Nol78 »

That is what i`m going to try, but not a hairdryer, i will use a heatgun/paintstripper.
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Santiago
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Re: Question for the rodbuilders.

Post by Santiago »

Hope you solve the problem.
"....he felt the gentle touch on the line and he was happy"

Hemingway

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Nobby
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Re: Question for the rodbuilders.

Post by Nobby »

It's certainly possible to burn the cane. I fished twice with a rod I had restored last year and on the second outing it snapped at the ferrule when making my first overhead cast!

It was a whole cane butt rod and the cane had been heated too much to expand the ferrule onto the cane...the cane was charred and failed. It must have been waiting to snap for 50 years or more!

It was a kit rod from JB Walker, I believe, and I guess it had never been fished with until I bought it.......

Luckily I found another butt in my spares pile.

Nol78

Re: Question for the rodbuilders.

Post by Nol78 »

Nobby my tip just snapped like a old dry twig.

I went back to my work space to look at it and put a bend in, and it just snapped.

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Re: Question for the rodbuilders.

Post by Northern_Nomad »

I don't know if this will help or just muddy the waters somewhat :surrender:

I'm not a rod builder (although I seem to be increasingly drawn down this route :shocked: )


I have however, worked with cane quite a bit in the shape and form of landing net handles, amongst other items.

Now if you take into account that these are not split into strips, nor really required to bend on a regualr basis like a rod, you would think it a fairly straight forward task.

So when making a handle for a net, the bamboo culm selected is heat treated to straighten the bamboo/cane. This actively drives out a lot of the inherent moisture. It is then heated again to flame the bamboo to a nice even "honey" colour 'ala' Mr Southwell.

So a piece of bamboo, which has been heated, straightened, de moisturised, which hasn't the same amount of flex should be easy....not quite so. I have just had the butt of one of these shafts split for no apparent reason, other than perhaps it should have a metal band on it to prevent any splitting due to chages of temperature ( and central heating). By way of comparison the laminated arms which from the same batch of bamboo which are then split into strips, planed , heated and flamed, have not had the same problem despite being stored side by side.

I also have bamboo from two different suppliers. One comes naturally quite straight with about four nodes in a six foot length. The other is more kinked along its length and has beteween six to eight nodes per length. Force grown perhaps a bit like rhubarb? The straighter bamboo is easier to work with but is heavier and contains a lot more moisture. The more kinked variety is half the weight ( feels not far off balsa wood) has more pronounced nodes, is impossible to strighten fully ( note this is whole not cut into strips), looks much more rustic but is not prone to splitting it would seem.

Maybe with the more modern era of the internet and a more free global market, that we are forgetting the trials and tribulations that the early builders went through in their quest to source "suitable" materials which we now have lost sight of. Certainly in my case I am now trying to source "East India Cane" as per Dick Walkers original spec rather than what is easy to get hold of.

I think I would initially look to the materials rather than the process you are applying? :holmes:
"We knelt side by side looking at it. I knew it was big, and suddenly it dawned on me it was more than that. It was tremendous!" - Richard Walker

Nol78

Re: Question for the rodbuilders.

Post by Nol78 »

I have thought of that, but the powerfibers are ok and the cane is straight with only 3 nodes on 6 feet.

But i really think is the heat treathment that let my down.

MHC

Re: Question for the rodbuilders.

Post by MHC »

475 degrees for 8 minutes in an custom oven I suggest, I have cooked for more and the sections are tough to plane, I always flame/tone first .

Yes moisture is expelled by heating of any kind but bamboo will re absorb most of it back to the ambient humidity regardless of varnish. The culms will be at least a few months old before we work on them, more probably a few years. They will have dried out as much as they are going to by the time you get to them.

Too much heat and the bamboo will carbonize and become brittle, which is the darkish brown look beyond the surface.

Flame for colour, heat for tempering.

Nol78

Re: Question for the rodbuilders.

Post by Nol78 »

The date of the culms is written on them and quotes 1985.

I will go for the heat threating by oven indeed MHC cost me 2 culms by not doing so.
Lesson learned i call that.

Nol78

Re: Question for the rodbuilders.

Post by Nol78 »

I`m taking a rest for now and looking for a rod that will need a bit of restoring.
I need to go fishing for i loose my sanity. Lol

So if anyone has a little project they want to let go?

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